Royal approval for Notts firm that came within 24 hours of extinction

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“We’ve doubled the size of the business internationally during that time and coupled that with delivering some high-profile projects.

“It’s a tremendous achievement for the business. Abacus has a brand internationally that’s equivalent to Mercedes and BMW in this industry.

“The fact we’ve put the business back to where it should have always been is a proud moment for the whole company.”

Since its formation out of a company that originally supplied the coal industry with equipment in 1958 by ex-Mansfield Town director Jack Pratt, Abacus has garnered an international reputation for designing and manufacturing specialist lighting columns.

Following his death in 2009, aged 84, the business was taken over by his wife Ruth and a new managing director.

Inside the Abacus Lighting factory (Image: Angela Ward)

But the company ran into trouble after embarking on a period of heavy investment in an ambitious international growth strategy, which involved opening factories in Shanghai and the Middle East.

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Increasing payments to meet the liabilities of a defined benefit pension scheme, which was millions in deficit, meant it encountered cash flow problems.

After collapsing into administration, Abacus was eventually taken over in May 2013 by a group of industrialists and financiers under an investment vehicle called Intrinsic Equity, whose portfolio also includes Nottingham IT firm Littlefish.

Mr Lamb, who was installed as managing director, said it had been 24 hours away from extinction after protracted negotiations.

He set about reducing the cost base, purchasing better and increasing margins, while focusing on increasing exports – which have jumped from contributing £3m towards the turnover four years ago to £7m now.

Turnover and profits have increased gradually from £18m and £1.4m respectively in 2013-14 to £22.5m and £2.5m for the year ending April 2017.

Although 19 staff were initially made redundant, the workforce has climbed from 137 to 170 people.

Many of Abacus’ lighting columns are used in sports stadia, including West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City’s home stadiums; cricket grounds including Trent Bridge, The Oval and Lords; the Faldo Course at Emirates Golf Club, in Dubai; and The Sevens, a purpose-built rugby sevens stadium also in Dubai.

Trent Bridge under the floodlights

Outside of sport, the company has won half a dozen international projects in the oil and sector worth about £750,000 each, while it installed 100 lighting columns with “UFO-shaped” head frames along a 4km stretch of an expressway in Lusail, a new city being built in Qatar.

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Sir John Peace, Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, presented the Queen’s Award during a tour of the company’s head office and factory in Oddicroft Lane on Monday.

He said: “Abacus is a remarkable business and the presentation this week of HM The Queen's Award for Enterprise is in recognition of the success the company has achieved exporting its products all around the world.

“It is also a fitting tribute to the many people employed by Abacus here in Nottinghamshire.”